Evidence-Based Practices for Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy

Everett L. Worthington Jr., Eric L. Johnson, Joshua N. Hook, Jamie D. Aten, Everett L. Worthington Jr., Eric L. Johnson, Joshua N. Hook, Jamie D. Aten

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780830840274
• eBook ISBN: 9780830864782
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Psychotherapeutische Beratung

Are Christian treatments as effective as secular treatments? What is the evidence to support its success?Christians engaged in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy and counseling are living in a unique moment. Over the last couple decades, these fields have grown more and more open to religious belief and religion-accommodative therapies. At the same time, Christian counselors and psychotherapists encounter pressure (for example, from insurance companies) to demonstrate that their accommodative therapies are as beneficial as secular therapies. This raises the need for evidence to support Christian practices and treatments.The essays gathered in this volume explore evidence-based Christian treatments, practices, factors and principles. The authors mine the relevant research and literature to update practicing psychotherapists, clinical researchers, students, teachers and educated laypersons about the efficacy of certain Christian-accommodative therapies. Topics covered in the book include:

• devotional meditation
• cognitive-behavior therapy
• psychodynamic and process-experiential therapies
• couples, marriage and family therapy
• group intervention

The book concludes with a review of the evidence for the various treatments discussed in the chapters, a guide for conducting clinical trials that is essential reading for current or aspiring researchers, and reflections by the editors about the future of evidence-based Christian practices. As the editors say, "more research is necessary." To that end, this volume is a major contribution to a field of inquiry that, while still in its infancy, promises to have enormous implications for future work in Christian counseling and psychotherapy.

Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• 1 Introduction to Evidence-Based Practices in Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy
• PART 1: Evidence-Based General Psychotherapeutic Factors
• 2 Evidence-Based Relationship and Therapist Factors in Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 3 Lay Christian Counseling for General Psychological Problems
• 4 Christian Devotional Meditation for Anxiety
• Handout 1
• Handout 2
• PART 2: Evidence-Based Approaches to Psychotherapeutic Treatment of Individuals
• 5 Christian-Accommodative Cognitive Therapy for Depression
• 6 Christian-Accommodative Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Children and Adolescents
• 7 Evidence-Based Principles from Psychodynamic and Process-Experiential Psychotherapies
• PART 3: Evidence-Based Psychotherapeutic Treatments for Couples and Groups
• 8 Preparing Couples for Marriage
• 9 Christian PREP: The Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program
• 10 The Hope-Focused Couples Approach to Counseling and Enrichment
• 11 The Relational Conflict Restoration Model
• 12 Marital Couples and Forgiveness Intervention
• 13 Christian-Accommodative Group Interventions to Promote Forgiveness for Transgressions
• PART 4: Reflecting on Evidence-Based Treatments
• 14 Promising Evidence-Based Treatments
• 15 Conducting Clinical Outcome Studies in Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy
• 16 Evidence-Based Practice in Light of the Christian Tradition(s)
• List of Contributors
• Subject Index
• Endorsement
• About the Editors
• More Titles from InterVarsity Press